The Maharashtra Nursing Council (MNC) has temporarily withheld permissions to conduct Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) sessions across the state until the submission of an ongoing enquiry report regarding irregularities and authenticity issues in certain CNE sessions reportedly held at government hospitals.
“We initiated an enquiry after receiving multiple complaints about unauthorised or bogus CNE sessions being organised without proper approval, and about nurses being charged money in exchange for certificates,” said Dr Ramling B Mali, president of the Maharashtra Nursing Council.
“The report was initially expected within five days of the order being passed. However, it has been delayed due to systematic and procedural bottlenecks,” he added. The report is now expected to be submitted within the next seven to 10 days.
Nurses worried
While the decision has been welcomed by many, several nurses have expressed concern about how the delay could affect their licence renewals.
The 50-seater hall at Bhabha Hospital, Bandra, where a Nursing Education Session was recently conducted. Pics/Ritika Gondhalekar
“Usually, when such enquiries are related to education, the certificates are either declared invalid or the authorities allow those who already earned them to retain their validity. I hope it’s the latter this time,” said a nurse who attended a CNE session at Bhabha Hospital.
“It’s already difficult to collect the 150 credit points needed for licence renewal within five years, given the patient load, shift hours, and family responsibilities. If these courses are questioned or cancelled, it will become even harder to meet the requirement,” another nurse added.
TNA responds
Rajabhau Rathod, president of the Trained Nurses Association (Maharashtra Branch), said his organisation had already cooperated with the ongoing enquiry.
“As part of the enquiry, we were questioned on November 10 and have submitted all the required documents and proofs which were asked for. We have nothing to hide,” he told mid-day.
“It looks like someone is trying to malign my and the association’s reputation. We are about to hold our first National Conference since 1988, and this entire issue seems like a conspiracy just before the event. No authority has officially informed us about permissions being withheld. Anyway, we don’t have any CNE sessions planned in the next two months due to the conference,” Rathod added.
Once the enquiry concludes, the Maharashtra Nursing Council is expected to issue a circular to all nursing institutions, clarifying the new guidelines and timelines for resuming CNE sessions across the state.
